Literally: Strawberry Train. Laura first described it to me as something for kids at the train museum, so I had a picture in my head of one of those mini-trains that they have at amusement parks, or a little train car in miniature that kids can explore. I don't really know.
Needless to say, it's not like that at all, but rather is a really old-school train car (think wooden benches for seats) that makes the trip from Madrid to Aranjuez (the path of the very first train line in Spain) ONLY DURING STRAWBERRY SEASON!!!!
The hosts dress up in period (mid-19th century, maybe??) dress and pass out small cartons of deliciously fresh Aranjuez strawberries, while reciting Spanish poetry. The poem they recited while we were on the train was calles, "La chata en los toros", and is about Isabel de Borbón, the daughter of Queen Isabel II. She was really popular in Madrid because she was kind of a party girl and really loved going to bullfights, and this poem is all about her and her ladies-in-waiting getting ready.
Sadly, the views out of the train weren't particularly spectacular, but it was a lot of fun to do once, and the train is super-pretty and old. I rode the train with Max and Ashley when they were here, and we had LOADS of fun. Perhaps a bit too much fun, because on the way back, I conked out on Max's shoulder for the entire trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment